Unit -2 Data Link Layer

o In the OSI model, the data link layer is a 4 th layer from the top and
2nd layer from the bottom.
o The communication channel that connects the adjacent nodes is
known as links, and in order to move the datagram from source to the
destination, the datagram must be moved across an individual link.
o The main responsibility of the Data Link Layer is to transfer the
datagram across an individual link.
o The Data link layer protocol defines the format of the packet
exchanged across the nodes as well as the actions such as Error
detection, retransmission, flow control, and random access.
o The Data Link Layer protocols are Ethernet, token ring, FDDI and PPP.
o An important characteristic of a Data Link Layer is that datagram can
be handled by different link layer protocols on different links in a path.
For example, the datagram is handled by Ethernet on the first link, PPP
on the second link.

Following services are provided by the Data Link Layer:

o Framing & Link access: Data Link Layer protocols encapsulate each
network frame within a Link layer frame before the transmission across
the link. A frame consists of a data field in which network layer
datagram is inserted and a number of data fields. It specifies the
structure of the frame as well as a channel access protocol by which
frame is to be transmitted over the link.
o Reliable delivery: Data Link Layer provides a reliable delivery
service, i.e., transmits the network layer datagram without any error. A
reliable delivery service is accomplished with transmissions and
acknowledgements. A data link layer mainly provides the reliable
delivery service over the links as they have higher error rates and they
 can be corrected locally, link at which an error occurs rather than
forcing to retransmit the data.
o Flow control: A receiving node can receive the frames at a faster rate
than it can process the frame. Without flow control, the receiver's
buffer can overflow, and frames can get lost. To overcome this
problem, the data link layer uses the flow control to prevent the
sending node on one side of the link from overwhelming the receiving
node on another side of the link.
o Error detection: Errors can be introduced by signal attenuation and
noise. Data Link Layer protocol provides a mechanism to detect one or
more errors. This is achieved by adding error detection bits in the
frame and then receiving node can perform an error check.
o Error correction: Error correction is similar to the Error detection,
except that receiving node not only detect the errors but also
determine where the errors have occurred in the frame.
o Half-Duplex & Full-Duplex: In a Full-Duplex mode, both the nodes
can transmit the data at the same time. In a Half-Duplex mode, only
one node can transmit the data at the same time.

Error Detection
When data is transmitted from one device to another device, the system
does not guarantee whether the data received by the device is identical to
the data transmitted by another device. An Error is a situation when the
message received at the receiver end is not identical to the message
transmitted.

Types Of Errors
Errors can be classified into two categories:

o Single-Bit Error
o Burst Error

Single-Bit Error:
The only one bit of a given data unit is changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1.

In the above figure, the message which is sent is corrupted as single-bit, i.e.,
0 bit is changed to 1.

Single-Bit Error does not appear more likely in Serial Data Transmission.
For example, Sender sends the data at 10 Mbps, this means that the bit lasts
only for 1 ?s and for a single-bit error to occurred, a noise must be more than
1 ?s.

Single-Bit Error mainly occurs in Parallel Data Transmission. For example, if

eight wires are used to send the eight bits of a byte, if one of the wire is
noisy, then single-bit is corrupted per byte.

Burst Error:
The two or more bits are changed from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0 is known as
Burst Error.

The Burst Error is determined from the first corrupted bit to the last
corrupted bit.
The duration of noise in Burst Error is more than the duration of noise in
Single-Bit.

Burst Errors are most likely to occurr in Serial Data Transmission.

The number of affected bits depends on the duration of the noise and data
rate.

Error Detecting Techniques:

The most popular Error Detecting Techniques are:

o Single parity check

o Two-dimensional parity check
o Checksum
o Cyclic redundancy check

Single Parity Check

o Single Parity checking is the simple mechanism and inexpensive to detect the
errors.
o In this technique, a redundant bit is also known as a parity bit which is
appended at the end of the data unit so that the number of 1s becomes even.
Therefore, the total number of transmitted bits would be 9 bits.
 o If the number of 1s bits is odd, then parity bit 1 is appended and if the
number of 1s bits is even, then parity bit 0 is appended at the end of the data
unit.
o At the receiving end, the parity bit is calculated from the received data bits
and compared with the received parity bit.
o This technique generates the total number of 1s even, so it is known as even-
parity checking.

Drawbacks Of Single Parity Checking

o It can only detect single-bit errors which are very rare.

o If two bits are interchanged, then it cannot detect the errors.
Two-Dimensional Parity Check
o Performance can be improved by using Two-Dimensional Parity
Check which organizes the data in the form of a table.
o Parity check bits are computed for each row, which is equivalent to the
single-parity check.
o In Two-Dimensional Parity check, a block of bits is divided into rows, and the
redundant row of bits is added to the whole block.
o At the receiving end, the parity bits are compared with the parity bits
computed from the received data.

Drawbacks Of 2D Parity Check

o If two bits in one data unit are corrupted and two bits exactly the same
position in another data unit are also corrupted, then 2D Parity checker will
not be able to detect the error.
o This technique cannot be used to detect the 4-bit errors or more in some
cases.
 Checksum
A Checksum is an error detection technique based on the concept of
redundancy.

It is divided into two parts:

Checksum Generator

A Checksum is generated at the sending side. Checksum generator

subdivides the data into equal segments of n bits each, and all these
segments are added together by using one's complement arithmetic. The
sum is complemented and appended to the original data, known as
checksum field. The extended data is transmitted across the network.

Suppose L is the total sum of the data segments, then the checksum would
be ?L

1. The Sender follows the given steps:

2. The block unit is divided into k sections, and each of n bits.
3. All the k sections are added together by using one's complement to get the sum.
4. The sum is complemented and it becomes the checksum field.
5. The original data and checksum field are sent across the network.

Checksum Checker

A Checksum is verified at the receiving side. The receiver subdivides the

incoming data into equal segments of n bits each, and all these segments
 are added together, and then this sum is complemented. If the complement
of the sum is zero, then the data is accepted otherwise data is rejected.

1. The Receiver follows the given steps:

2. The block unit is divided into k sections and each of n bits.
3. All the k sections are added together by using one's complement algorithm to get t
he sum.
4. The sum is complemented.
5. If the result of the sum is zero, then the data is accepted otherwise the data is disc
arded.

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

CRC is a redundancy error technique used to determine the error.

Following are the steps used in CRC for error detection:

o In CRC technique, a string of n 0s is appended to the data unit, and this n

number is less than the number of bits in a predetermined number, known as
division which is n+1 bits.
o Secondly, the newly extended data is divided by a divisor using a process is
known as binary division. The remainder generated from this division is
known as CRC remainder.
o Thirdly, the CRC remainder replaces the appended 0s at the end of the
original data. This newly generated unit is sent to the receiver.
o The receiver receives the data followed by the CRC remainder. The receiver
will treat this whole unit as a single unit, and it is divided by the same divisor
that was used to find the CRC remainder.

If the resultant of this division is zero which means that it has no error, and
the data is accepted.

If the resultant of this division is not zero which means that the data consists
of an error. Therefore, the data is discarded.
Let's understand this concept through an example:

Suppose the original data is 11100 and divisor is 1001.

CRC Generator

o A CRC generator uses a modulo-2 division. Firstly, three zeroes are appended
at the end of the data as the length of the divisor is 4 and we know that the
length of the string 0s to be appended is always one less than the length of
the divisor.
o Now, the string becomes 11100000, and the resultant string is divided by the
divisor 1001.
o The remainder generated from the binary division is known as CRC
remainder. The generated value of the CRC remainder is 111.
o CRC remainder replaces the appended string of 0s at the end of the data unit,
and the final string would be 11100111 which is sent across the network.
CRC Checker

o The functionality of the CRC checker is similar to the CRC generator.

o When the string 11100111 is received at the receiving end, then CRC checker
performs the modulo-2 division.
o A string is divided by the same divisor, i.e., 1001.
o In this case, CRC checker generates the remainder of zero. Therefore, the
data is accepted.
 Error Correction
Error Correction codes are used to detect and correct the errors when data is
transmitted from the sender to the receiver.

Error Correction can be handled in two ways:

o Backward error correction: Once the error is discovered, the receiver

requests the sender to retransmit the entire data unit.
o Forward error correction: In this case, the receiver uses the error-
correcting code which automatically corrects the errors.

A single additional bit can detect the error, but cannot correct it.

For correcting the errors, one has to know the exact position of the error. For
example, If we want to calculate a single-bit error, the error correction code
will determine which one of seven bits is in error. To achieve this, we have to
add some additional redundant bits.
Suppose r is the number of redundant bits and d is the total number of the
data bits. The number of redundant bits r can be calculated by using the
formula:

2r>=d+r+1

The value of r is calculated by using the above formula. For example, if the
value of d is 4, then the possible smallest value that satisfies the above
relation would be 3.

To determine the position of the bit which is in error, a technique developed

by R.W Hamming is Hamming code which can be applied to any length of the
data unit and uses the relationship between data units and redundant units.

Hamming Code
Parity bits: The bit which is appended to the original data of binary bits so
that the total number of 1s is even or odd.

Even parity: To check for even parity, if the total number of 1s is even, then
the value of the parity bit is 0. If the total number of 1s occurrences is odd,
then the value of the parity bit is 1.

Odd Parity: To check for odd parity, if the total number of 1s is even, then
the value of parity bit is 1. If the total number of 1s is odd, then the value of
parity bit is 0.

Algorithm of Hamming code:

o An information of 'd' bits are added to the redundant bits 'r' to form d+r.
o The location of each of the (d+r) digits is assigned a decimal value.
o The 'r' bits are placed in the positions 1,2,.....2 k-1.
o At the receiving end, the parity bits are recalculated. The decimal value of
the parity bits determines the position of an error.
 Relationship b/w Error position & binary number.

Let's understand the concept of Hamming code through an example:

Suppose the original data is 1010 which is to be sent.

Total number of data bits 'd' = 4

Number of redundant bits r : 2r >= d+r+1
2r>= 4+r+1
Therefore, the value of r is 3 that satisfies the above relation.
Total number of bits = d+r = 4+3 = 7;

Determining the position of the redundant bits

The number of redundant bits is 3. The three bits are represented by r1, r2,
r4. The position of the redundant bits is calculated with corresponds to the
raised power of 2. Therefore, their corresponding positions are 1, 21, 22.

1. The position of r1 = 1
2. The position of r2 = 2
3. The position of r4 = 4

Representation of Data on the addition of parity bits:

Determining the Parity bits

Determining the r1 bit
The r1 bit is calculated by performing a parity check on the bit positions
whose binary representation includes 1 in the first position.

We observe from the above figure that the bit positions that includes 1 in the
first position are 1, 3, 5, 7. Now, we perform the even-parity check at these
bit positions. The total number of 1 at these bit positions corresponding to r1
is even, therefore, the value of the r1 bit is 0.

Determining r2 bit
The r2 bit is calculated by performing a parity check on the bit positions
whose binary representation includes 1 in the second position.

We observe from the above figure that the bit positions that includes 1 in the
second position are 2, 3, 6, 7. Now, we perform the even-parity check at
these bit positions. The total number of 1 at these bit positions
corresponding to r2 is odd, therefore, the value of the r2 bit is 1.

Determining r4 bit
The r4 bit is calculated by performing a parity check on the bit positions
whose binary representation includes 1 in the third position.
We observe from the above figure that the bit positions that includes 1 in the
third position are 4, 5, 6, 7. Now, we perform the even-parity check at these
bit positions. The total number of 1 at these bit positions corresponding to r4
is even, therefore, the value of the r4 bit is 0.

Data transferred is given below:

Suppose the 4th bit is changed from 0 to 1 at the receiving end, then parity
bits are recalculated.

R1 bit
The bit positions of the r1 bit are 1,3,5,7

We observe from the above figure that the binary representation of r1 is

1100. Now, we perform the even-parity check, the total number of 1s
appearing in the r1 bit is an even number. Therefore, the value of r1 is 0.
R2 bit
The bit positions of r2 bit are 2,3,6,7.

We observe from the above figure that the binary representation of r2 is

1001. Now, we perform the even-parity check, the total number of 1s
appearing in the r2 bit is an even number. Therefore, the value of r2 is 0.

R4 bit
The bit positions of r4 bit are 4,5,6,7.

We observe from the above figure that the binary representation of r4 is

1011. Now, we perform the even-parity check, the total number of 1s
appearing in the r4 bit is an odd number. Therefore, the value of r4 is 1.

o The binary representation of redundant bits, i.e., r4r2r1 is 100, and its
corresponding decimal value is 4. Therefore, the error occurs in a 4 th bit
position. The bit value must be changed from 1 to 0 to correct the error.
Error Correction
Error Correction codes are used to detect and correct the errors when data is
transmitted from the sender to the receiver.

Error Correction can be handled in two ways:

o Backward error correction: Once the error is discovered, the receiver

requests the sender to retransmit the entire data unit.
o Forward error correction: In this case, the receiver uses the error-
correcting code which automatically corrects the errors.

A single additional bit can detect the error, but cannot correct it.

For correcting the errors, one has to know the exact position of the error. For
example, If we want to calculate a single-bit error, the error correction code
will determine which one of seven bits is in error. To achieve this, we have to
add some additional redundant bits.

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Suppose r is the number of redundant bits and d is the total number of the
data bits. The number of redundant bits r can be calculated by using the
formula:

2r>=d+r+1

The value of r is calculated by using the above formula. For example, if the
value of d is 4, then the possible smallest value that satisfies the above
relation would be 3.

To determine the position of the bit which is in error, a technique developed

by R.W Hamming is Hamming code which can be applied to any length of the
data unit and uses the relationship between data units and redundant units.

Hamming Code
Parity bits: The bit which is appended to the original data of binary bits so
that the total number of 1s is even or odd.
Even parity: To check for even parity, if the total number of 1s is even, then
the value of the parity bit is 0. If the total number of 1s occurrences is odd,
then the value of the parity bit is 1.

Odd Parity: To check for odd parity, if the total number of 1s is even, then
the value of parity bit is 1. If the total number of 1s is odd, then the value of
parity bit is 0.

Algorithm of Hamming code:

o An information of 'd' bits are added to the redundant bits 'r' to form d+r.
o The location of each of the (d+r) digits is assigned a decimal value.
o The 'r' bits are placed in the positions 1,2,.....2 k-1.
o At the receiving end, the parity bits are recalculated. The decimal value of
the parity bits determines the position of an error.

Relationship b/w Error position & binary number.

Let's understand the concept of Hamming code through an example:

Suppose the original data is 1010 which is to be sent.

Total number of data bits 'd' = 4

Number of redundant bits r : 2r >= d+r+1
2r>= 4+r+1
Therefore, the value of r is 3 that satisfies the above relation.
Total number of bits = d+r = 4+3 = 7;
 Determining the position of the redundant bits
The number of redundant bits is 3. The three bits are represented by r1, r2,
r4. The position of the redundant bits is calculated with corresponds to the
raised power of 2. Therefore, their corresponding positions are 1, 21, 22.

1. The position of r1 = 1
2. The position of r2 = 2
3. The position of r4 = 4

Representation of Data on the addition of parity bits:

Determining the Parity bits

Determining the r1 bit
The r1 bit is calculated by performing a parity check on the bit positions
whose binary representation includes 1 in the first position.

We observe from the above figure that the bit positions that includes 1 in the
first position are 1, 3, 5, 7. Now, we perform the even-parity check at these
bit positions. The total number of 1 at these bit positions corresponding to r1
is even, therefore, the value of the r1 bit is 0.

Determining r2 bit
The r2 bit is calculated by performing a parity check on the bit positions
whose binary representation includes 1 in the second position.
We observe from the above figure that the bit positions that includes 1 in the
second position are 2, 3, 6, 7. Now, we perform the even-parity check at
these bit positions. The total number of 1 at these bit positions
corresponding to r2 is odd, therefore, the value of the r2 bit is 1.

Determining r4 bit
The r4 bit is calculated by performing a parity check on the bit positions
whose binary representation includes 1 in the third position.

We observe from the above figure that the bit positions that includes 1 in the
third position are 4, 5, 6, 7. Now, we perform the even-parity check at these
bit positions. The total number of 1 at these bit positions corresponding to r4
is even, therefore, the value of the r4 bit is 0.

Data transferred is given below:

Suppose the 4th bit is changed from 0 to 1 at the receiving end, then parity
bits are recalculated.
R1 bit
The bit positions of the r1 bit are 1,3,5,7

We observe from the above figure that the binary representation of r1 is

1100. Now, we perform the even-parity check, the total number of 1s
appearing in the r1 bit is an even number. Therefore, the value of r1 is 0.

R2 bit
The bit positions of r2 bit are 2,3,6,7.

We observe from the above figure that the binary representation of r2 is

1001. Now, we perform the even-parity check, the total number of 1s
appearing in the r2 bit is an even number. Therefore, the value of r2 is 0.

R4 bit
The bit positions of r4 bit are 4,5,6,7.
We observe from the above figure that the binary representation of r4 is
1011. Now, we perform the even-parity check, the total number of 1s
appearing in the r4 bit is an odd number. Therefore, the value of r4 is 1.

o The binary representation of redundant bits, i.e., r4r2r1 is 100, and its
corresponding decimal value is 4. Therefore, the error occurs in a 4 th bit
position. The bit value must be changed from 1 to 0 to correct the error.

Data Link Controls

Data Link Control is the service provided by the Data Link Layer to provide
reliable data transfer over the physical medium. For example, In the half-
duplex transmission mode, one device can only transmit the data at a time.
If both the devices at the end of the links transmit the data simultaneously,
they will collide and leads to the loss of the information. The Data link layer
provides the coordination among the devices so that no collision occurs.

The Data link layer provides three functions:

o Line discipline
o Flow Control
o Error Control
Line Discipline
o Line Discipline is a functionality of the Data link layer that provides the
coordination among the link systems. It determines which device can send,
and when it can send the data.

Line Discipline can be achieved in two ways:

o ENQ/ACK
o Poll/select

END/ACK

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END/ACK stands for Enquiry/Acknowledgement is used when there is no

wrong receiver available on the link and having a dedicated path between
the two devices so that the device capable of receiving the transmission is
the intended one.

END/ACK coordinates which device will start the transmission and whether
the recipient is ready or not.

Working of END/ACK

The transmitter transmits the frame called an Enquiry (ENQ) asking whether
the receiver is available to receive the data or not.

The receiver responses either with the positive acknowledgement(ACK) or

with the negative acknowledgement(NACK) where positive
acknowledgement means that the receiver is ready to receive the
transmission and negative acknowledgement means that the receiver is
unable to accept the transmission.

Following are the responses of the receiver:

o If the response to the ENQ is positive, the sender will transmit its data, and
once all of its data has been transmitted, the device finishes its transmission
with an EOT (END-of-Transmission) frame.
o If the response to the ENQ is negative, then the sender disconnects and
restarts the transmission at another time.
o If the response is neither negative nor positive, the sender assumes that the
ENQ frame was lost during the transmission and makes three attempts to
establish a link before giving up.
Poll/Select

The Poll/Select method of line discipline works with those topologies where
one device is designated as a primary station, and other devices are
secondary stations.

Working of Poll/Select

o In this, the primary device and multiple secondary devices consist of a single
transmission line, and all the exchanges are made through the primary
device even though the destination is a secondary device.
 o The primary device has control over the communication link, and the
secondary device follows the instructions of the primary device.
o The primary device determines which device is allowed to use the
communication channel. Therefore, we can say that it is an initiator of the
session.
o If the primary device wants to receive the data from the secondary device, it
asks the secondary device that they anything to send, this process is known
as polling.
o If the primary device wants to send some data to the secondary device, then
it tells the target secondary to get ready to receive the data, this process is
known as selecting.

Select

o The select mode is used when the primary device has something to send.
o When the primary device wants to send some data, then it alerts the
secondary device for the upcoming transmission by transmitting a Select
(SEL) frame, one field of the frame includes the address of the intended
secondary device.
o When the secondary device receives the SEL frame, it sends an
acknowledgement that indicates the secondary ready status.
o If the secondary device is ready to accept the data, then the primary device
sends two or more data frames to the intended secondary device. Once the
data has been transmitted, the secondary sends an acknowledgement
specifies that the data has been received.
Poll

o The Poll mode is used when the primary device wants to receive some data
from the secondary device.
o When a primary device wants to receive the data, then it asks each device
whether it has anything to send.
o Firstly, the primary asks (poll) the first secondary device, if it responds with
the NACK (Negative Acknowledgement) means that it has nothing to send.
Now, it approaches the second secondary device, it responds with the ACK
means that it has the data to send. The secondary device can send more
than one frame one after another or sometimes it may be required to send
ACK before sending each one, depending on the type of the protocol being
used.
Flow Control
o It is a set of procedures that tells the sender how much data it can transmit
before the data overwhelms the receiver.
 o The receiving device has limited speed and limited memory to store the data.
Therefore, the receiving device must be able to inform the sending device to
stop the transmission temporarily before the limits are reached.
o It requires a buffer, a block of memory for storing the information until they
are processed.

Two methods have been developed to control the flow of data:

o Stop-and-wait
o Sliding window

Stop-and-wait

o In the Stop-and-wait method, the sender waits for an acknowledgement after

every frame it sends.
o When acknowledgement is received, then only next frame is sent. The
process of alternately sending and waiting of a frame continues until the
sender transmits the EOT (End of transmission) frame.

Advantage of Stop-and-wait

The Stop-and-wait method is simple as each frame is checked and

acknowledged before the next frame is sent.

Disadvantage of Stop-and-wait

Stop-and-wait technique is inefficient to use as each frame must travel

across all the way to the receiver, and an acknowledgement travels all the
way before the next frame is sent. Each frame sent and received uses the
entire time needed to traverse the link.

Sliding Window

o The Sliding Window is a method of flow control in which a sender can

transmit the several frames before getting an acknowledgement.
o In Sliding Window Control, multiple frames can be sent one after the another
due to which capacity of the communication channel can be utilized
efficiently.
o A single ACK acknowledge multiple frames.
 o Sliding Window refers to imaginary boxes at both the sender and receiver
end.
o The window can hold the frames at either end, and it provides the upper limit
on the number of frames that can be transmitted before the
acknowledgement.
o Frames can be acknowledged even when the window is not completely filled.
o The window has a specific size in which they are numbered as modulo-n
means that they are numbered from 0 to n-1. For example, if n = 8, the
frames are numbered from 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,0,1........
o The size of the window is represented as n-1. Therefore, maximum n-1
frames can be sent before acknowledgement.
o When the receiver sends the ACK, it includes the number of the next frame
that it wants to receive. For example, to acknowledge the string of frames
ending with frame number 4, the receiver will send the ACK containing the
number 5. When the sender sees the ACK with the number 5, it got to know
that the frames from 0 through 4 have been received.

Sender Window

o At the beginning of a transmission, the sender window contains n-1 frames,

and when they are sent out, the left boundary moves inward shrinking the
size of the window. For example, if the size of the window is w if three frames
are sent out, then the number of frames left out in the sender window is w-3.
o Once the ACK has arrived, then the sender window expands to the number
which will be equal to the number of frames acknowledged by ACK.
o For example, the size of the window is 7, and if frames 0 through 4 have been
sent out and no acknowledgement has arrived, then the sender window
contains only two frames, i.e., 5 and 6. Now, if ACK has arrived with a number
4 which means that 0 through 3 frames have arrived undamaged and the
sender window is expanded to include the next four frames. Therefore, the
sender window contains six frames (5,6,7,0,1,2).
Receiver Window

o At the beginning of transmission, the receiver window does not contain n

frames, but it contains n-1 spaces for frames.
o When the new frame arrives, the size of the window shrinks.
o The receiver window does not represent the number of frames received, but
it represents the number of frames that can be received before an ACK is
sent. For example, the size of the window is w, if three frames are received
then the number of spaces available in the window is (w-3).
o Once the acknowledgement is sent, the receiver window expands by the
number equal to the number of frames acknowledged.
o Suppose the size of the window is 7 means that the receiver window contains
seven spaces for seven frames. If the one frame is received, then the
receiver window shrinks and moving the boundary from 0 to 1. In this way,
window shrinks one by one, so window now contains the six spaces. If frames
from 0 through 4 have sent, then the window contains two spaces before an
acknowledgement is sent.
Error Control
Error Control is a technique of error detection and retransmission.

Categories of Error Control:

Stop-and-wait ARQ

Stop-and-wait ARQ is a technique used to retransmit the data in case of

damaged or lost frames.

This technique works on the principle that the sender will not transmit the
next frame until it receives the acknowledgement of the last transmitted
frame.

Four features are required for the retransmission:

o The sending device keeps a copy of the last transmitted frame until the
acknowledgement is received. Keeping the copy allows the sender to
retransmit the data if the frame is not received correctly.
o Both the data frames and the ACK frames are numbered alternately 0 and 1
so that they can be identified individually. Suppose data 1 frame
acknowledges the data 0 frame means that the data 0 frame has been
arrived correctly and expects to receive data 1 frame.
o If an error occurs in the last transmitted frame, then the receiver sends the
NAK frame which is not numbered. On receiving the NAK frame, sender
retransmits the data.
o It works with the timer. If the acknowledgement is not received within the
allotted time, then the sender assumes that the frame is lost during the
transmission, so it will retransmit the frame.

Two possibilities of the retransmission:

 o Damaged Frame: When the receiver receives a damaged frame, i.e., the
frame contains an error, then it returns the NAK frame. For example, when
the data 0 frame is sent, and then the receiver sends the ACK 1 frame means
that the data 0 has arrived correctly, and transmits the data 1 frame. The
sender transmits the next frame: data 1. It reaches undamaged, and the
receiver returns ACK 0. The sender transmits the next frame: data 0. The
receiver reports an error and returns the NAK frame. The sender retransmits
the data 0 frame.
o Lost Frame: Sender is equipped with the timer and starts when the frame is
transmitted. Sometimes the frame has not arrived at the receiving end so
that it can be acknowledged neither positively nor negatively. The sender
waits for acknowledgement until the timer goes off. If the timer goes off, it
retransmits the last transmitted frame.

Sliding Window ARQ

SlidingWindow ARQ is a technique used for continuous transmission error

control.

Three Features used for retransmission:

o In this case, the sender keeps the copies of all the transmitted frames until
they have been acknowledged. Suppose the frames from 0 through 4 have
been transmitted, and the last acknowledgement was for frame 2, the sender
has to keep the copies of frames 3 and 4 until they receive correctly.
o The receiver can send either NAK or ACK depending on the conditions. The
NAK frame tells the sender that the data have been received damaged. Since
the sliding window is a continuous transmission mechanism, both ACK and
NAK must be numbered for the identification of a frame. The ACK frame
consists of a number that represents the next frame which the receiver
expects to receive. The NAK frame consists of a number that represents the
damaged frame.
o The sliding window ARQ is equipped with the timer to handle the lost
acknowledgements. Suppose then n-1 frames have been sent before
receiving any acknowledgement. The sender waits for the acknowledgement,
so it starts the timer and waits before sending any more. If the allotted time
 runs out, the sender retransmits one or all the frames depending upon the
protocol used.

Two protocols used in sliding window ARQ:

o Go-Back-n ARQ: In Go-Back-N ARQ protocol, if one frame is lost or

damaged, then it retransmits all the frames after which it does not receive
the positive ACK.

Three possibilities can occur for retransmission:

o Damaged Frame: When the frame is damaged, then the receiver sends a
NAK frame.

In the above figure, three frames have been transmitted before an error
discovered in the third frame. In this case, ACK 2 has been returned telling
that the frames 0,1 have been received successfully without any error. The
receiver discovers the error in data 2 frame, so it returns the NAK 2 frame.
The frame 3 is also discarded as it is transmitted after the damaged frame.
Therefore, the sender retransmits the frames 2,3.

o Lost Data Frame: In Sliding window protocols, data frames are sent
sequentially. If any of the frames is lost, then the next frame arrive at the
receiver is out of sequence. The receiver checks the sequence number of
each of the frame, discovers the frame that has been skipped, and returns
the NAK for the missing frame. The sending device retransmits the frame
indicated by NAK as well as the frames transmitted after the lost frame.
o Lost Acknowledgement: The sender can send as many frames as the
windows allow before waiting for any acknowledgement. Once the limit of the
window is reached, the sender has no more frames to send; it must wait for
the acknowledgement. If the acknowledgement is lost, then the sender could
wait forever. To avoid such situation, the sender is equipped with the timer
that starts counting whenever the window capacity is reached. If the
acknowledgement has not been received within the time limit, then the
sender retransmits the frame since the last ACK.

Selective-Reject ARQ

o Selective-Reject ARQ technique is more efficient than Go-Back-n ARQ.

o In this technique, only those frames are retransmitted for which negative
acknowledgement (NAK) has been received.
o The receiver storage buffer keeps all the damaged frames on hold until the
frame in error is correctly received.
o The receiver must have an appropriate logic for reinserting the frames in a
correct order.
o The sender must consist of a searching mechanism that selects only the
requested frame for retransmission.